The Warblers… version2.0

A long time ago I was given a small pair of Nikon binoculars. They lived in their case, collecting dust, year after year, waiting for that day to be put to work. Well over ten years ago, at the age of forty, I was walking my dog early in the morning before work when a dull pain started in the center of my chest. When I got back home, the pain had exponentially become worse. So bad I collapsed on my bed and literally vocalized my discomfort (believe me, the screaming and hyperventilating came later at in the emergency room). I was very fortunate that my flatmate came into my room, ignored my belligerence, and dragged me to the hospital.

So after four stents, rehab, and a long recovery period, I wiped the dust off my binoculars, hopped in my car, headed to the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, Plum Island, Massachusetts. It was the beginning of May. The weather was fantastic; warm, sunny, and with all the rain we had in April, all the flora was blooming (well most of it).

I was very surprised at how many people there were there until I parked and and headed down a boardwalk that cut through some woods and a marsh. I realized all these people that were there, were birding. It was an incredible day. There were ruby-throated hummingbirds everywhere you looked. Then there were these tiny birds everywhere you turned with these brilliant colors. I had never imagined these little colorful birds ever existed. That was it. My birding addiction started. That is why this blog is dedicated to all those birders I met that day, and the Warblers.